Thyroid Cancer Research

In the U.S alone, more than 40 thousand people test positive for thyroid cancer every year. Thyroid cancer research is a domain which is strictly working for the betterment in treatment procedures and methods in continuum. Scientists are breaking new grounds in cancer related studies everyday and the feedback of patients in clinical trial is of significant importance for the same.

Researches show that the hospital you choose to get the treatment done can also decide the outcome. The radioactive substances used in radiation therapy may vary in different hospitals; this can be the decisive factor in the treatment being successful or otherwise. Hence it is better to enquire about the past cases related to a particular treatment before accepting to be a part of the treatment procedure.

NYUCI Thyroid Cancer Interdisciplinary Program is tirelessly working on developing new study modules related to the biology of thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer research aims at becoming more efficient with predicting the growth and movement of the cancer and in planning treatment procedures. However, thyroid cancer is intricately connected to other parts of the neck region and hence the determination of exact extent to which the procedure is to be followed still remains indefinite. The research still awaits breakthroughs that would reduce this gap.

The thyroid cancer research aims at modeling the current guidelines and to optimize the procedure according to the need of the patient. In some cases, a patient has developed a tumor which is immobile and which does not need surgery however he/she might be subjected to surgery with keeping the old guidelines in mind. There is a need for research which separates subjects who need radical treatment from those who don't, resolving the issue would increase the rate of cure. The NCI (National Cancer Institute) performs and funds lot of thyroid cancer research dedicated to the cause of detecting unpredictably dangerous behavior of cells and developing drugs for it.

The scientists collect samples of subjects undergoing surgery and maintain it in IRB regulated bio-repository for research purposes. Genomic behaviors of different types of thyroid cancers are studied and subsequent behavior of tumors too. This study is related to molecular functioning of various types of cancers helps the laboratory to design a subjective treatment methodology. Thus, each individual is subjected to the treatment that he/she requires rather than following a general guideline.

Thyroid cancer research is being carried out at every major University-Hospitals and Medical Centers in the country and new methods of diagnosing the intricate patterns of the malignant cells are being carried out to improve on the already existing treatment methods. The new breakthroughs in thyroid cancer research are as follows:

Treatment related discoveries:

In Chemotherapy: Taxol a famous drug used to fight cells carrying thyroid cancer is being re-evaluated on the basis of its performance and side-effects.

In Radiation therapy: Likelihood of recurrence of cancer is being studied, the effects of radioactive substances in causing further malignant behavior is also studied.

Discoveries in Genetical cell behavior: This branch of thyroid cancer research is finding elaborate data related to medullary thyroid cancer or the inherited type of thyroid cancer. Detection of the RET gene in the family is done and the diagnosis is followed by the removal of the thyroid gland to avoid the spread of the cancer affected cells.

Related to Diagnosis: The biopsies if carried out with the assistance of imaging scanning techniques can be very accurate and the tissues of the affected area can be precisely removed for examination using FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration).

Scientists are constantly pushing the envelope in order to watch them bend in favor of new breakthroughs in the areas of Cancer treatment and prognosis. The government funds various research organizations apart from the mainstream Cancer-research oriented institutions. Thyroid cancer research involves performing innumerable tests and even repeating them for confirmations and thus forming comprehensive analytical statistics for future references.